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Food production, transportation leave carbon 'footprints'The Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture at Iowa State University was the first come up with figures for how far today's food travels between harvester and table. "Their estimated 1,518 miles is still quoted everywhere. People are overlooking the fact that the center just tracked the average distance trucks travel to reach the big produce center in Chicago and then go on into Iowa. The mileage for other states' food could vary considerably," said Jana Beckman, director of the Kansas Center for Sustainable Agriculture and Alternative Crops. In addition to mileage, the where, when and how of crop production can also make a difference. "We need to be looking into all kinds of things if we're really concerned about the environment," Beckman said. "One complicated example that's also easy to understand is: Does it take more fuel to get strawberries to Kansas City in winter from a nearby heated greenhouse that has enriched soils or from a power-irrigated, warm-weather California farm with fertile soils?" Everything counts that uses a fossil fuel as an energy source or ingredient (fertilizers, pesticides). "As consumers, we do have several options to reduce the 'food miles' on our dinner tables, though," she said. "We can do that by buying from local growers, growing some of our own food and eating seasonally. We also could freeze some of this food for later, but there's nothing quite like anticipating and finally getting that first luscious taste of this year's fresh asparagus." Beckman admits she's in favor of regional foods. The questions her center receives often address how to get into the small-scale processing of locally grown foods and how to establish or strengthen a farmers market. The center's website (http://www.kansassustainableag.org/) provides information on an even broader range of "local" topics and includes a directory of Kansas farmers markets. 5/26/08 Date: 5/20/08
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